Dancing
by Asanisan
Summary: Kakashi saves Sakura.


**Dancing**

Or

I Really Should Get Back to Writing _Rising_

"Kakashi! You've got to hide me!"

"Ohayou to you, too, Sakura-chan," he said calmly.

"There's no time for that. Please, you have to hide me now!"

She dove behind him, cowering like a scared kitten.

Kakashi sighed and snapped his book shut. "Sakura-chan, what could _you _possibly be running from?"

"It's Ino. She wants to play "dress-up Sakura and then show her to every living male in the village." You've got to help. Last time was horrible. I just got the really determined ones to stop calling! Please! If I hear one more come-on I think I'll die! This is a matter of life and death, Kakashi. Life and Death! Hide me!"

Kakashi gave a surprised look to his kunoichi, the fiercest kunoichi (sans the godaime) in all Konoha, who was currently trembling against his back.

"Now, Sakura, I'm sure it's not as bad as all tha…"

"Sakura-chan," sang a voice outside the window. "Won't you come out to play Sa-chan?"

Sakura shivered even harder and tried to curl in upon herself.

"You're going to disappoint all your adoring fans. I just want to put you in a pretty dress. Don't be a spoilsport."

The form of a blonde in purple attire waving a very green, very skimpy dress could be seen outside his window as Ino passed by on her hunt.

"I'll find you sooner or later, Sa-chan!" the girl sang happily.

When she was sure it was safe to speak, Sakura continued her begging.

"Please, Kaka-sempai! You don't know what it's like: she tears off all my clothes and shoves me into those tight dresses and then she pulls my hair until it looks just right and then she takes me to a bar and leaves to the wolves and they paw and moan and…

"Alright."

"You'll hide me?"

"Aa."

Kakashi grabbed her hand and pulled her up to her feet. In truth, he was horrified. How could Ino do this to his sweet little kunoichi? He knew the way men in bars think. Taking her to a bar in an outfit like the one the blonde was carrying with no one to protect her was simply unspeakable. Ino would get a stern talking to from…um…who did she respect enough to be phased by a stern talking to? Damn…

"Where can I hide you?"

"Well, you see," she said sheepishly, "that's why I came here."

The confusion he showed in his eye asked her to explain.

"She doesn't know where you live, so she wouldn't look here until she started her window by window stage of search."

"She actually goes window to window?"

"Yes! She's crazy, Kakashi!" She grabbed him by the vest and started shaking him with a slightly insane glint to her eye. "Crazy I tell you! Crazy!"

"And it seems to be rubbing off," he said as he grabbed her hands in his and pulled them away from his vest.

She looked down, a little ashamed by her behavior. She took a moment to compose herself.

"Please, Kaka-sempai," she cried, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to be sexy Sakura anymore!"

Kakashi hated it when she cried. It always got his nerves on edge. He'd do anything to make her stop. He looked around wildly for help. His eyes landed on his closet door and he immediately thought up a clever plan.

"Okay, okay! Don't cry, Sakura-chan. You can hide in my closet," he said, giving her hands a reassuring shake and squeeze.

"Your…your closet?"

"Aa."

"That's your big plan to hide me? Stick me in your closet?"

Her voice was incredulous and a little ungrateful.

"Aa. Do you have a problem with that? Or would you rather I throw you outside?"

"No, no! The closet sounds perfect," she smiled nervously. "It's a wonderful plan, oh great Copy-nin."

He pulled her into his closet and gave her hands a reassuring squeeze before leaving her there.

"Just stay very quiet and Ino will never find you."

"O-okay, Kaka-sempai," she said as she pushed against his numerous clothes (most of which he had only worn once and cringed at wearing again) and pulled out a hanger that had been poking her in the back. "If you say so."

He smiled at her winningly, eye creasing.

He exited the closet and had just shut the door when he heard the scariest (sans Tsunade… and Sakura on her bad days) voice he had ever heard in his life.

"Ohayou, Kakashi-sensei," Ino called from his window. His keen ears heard Sakura's faint gasp in the closet. "Have you seen Sakura anywhere by chance?"

"Sakura-chan? Yes, I did see her. She was helping an old lady get her cat out of a tree. She seemed in quite a hurry about it, though."

He could tell Ino wasn't buying it. She glared at him suspiciously.

"And please, call me Kakashi-san. Sensei makes me feel old."

"Kakashi-sensei, what were you doing in the closet?"

Damn. She had noticed. He could just imagine Sakura in there, biting her lip and praying for him to lie better. He couldn't disappoint her when she wore such a cute expression, even if he was only imagining it.

"Oh, I was just reading."

"In the closet?"

"Yes, it has a nice sheltered and secluded feel to it."

"Isn't a little dark in there to be reading?"

"I use a flashlight."

Ino really wasn't buying it. The little witch entered his (_his!_) apartment and walked up to him with the sweetest, most venomous smile plastered across her face.

"Things could go very badly for you if I find you've been keeping certain pink and green things from me, Kakashi-sensei."

"Is that a threat, Ino-_kohai_?"

"It's a promise, _sensei_. Wouldn't it be just terrible if nasty rumors got started that a certain flower was known to be stashed in a certain elite jounin's closet on several occasions. It might cause quite a stir. Especially if the hokage found out. She is very protective of that certain flower, you know."

Kakashi knew Ino wasn't bluffing. The arrogant little shit knew how to exploit the gossip mill and would no doubt blow this whole thing way out of proportion. And if Tsunade got wind of such rumors, he was a dead man.

At the look on his face, she threw him a boon.

"What do you say we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"You tell me where Sakura-chan is and I'll do you a favor."

"Hm. Any favor?"

"Any favor."

Kakashi smiled. He leaned in to whisper his favor in the blonde's ear, not wanting his pink-haired fugitive to hear.

Ino grinned and nodded at his proposal.

"She's in the closet," he said with reluctance. Sakura would hate him for this.

Ino walked up and threw open the closet door.

"No, please! No!"

Ino grabbed Sakura's ankle and proceeded to drag her out of Kakashi's apartment. When they passed by Kakashi, Sakura released her fury.

"Kakashi, you traitor! I thought I could trust you!"

"Aw, don't be too mad at him, Sa-chan. You know I always get what I want. Turns out misery wants company. Tonight, the men will be all over _you_ and I can focus on Sasuke."

"No, please! Kakashi, help me! Please! Help me!"

Kakashi could only wave at her pathetically as Ino lifted her out the window. Sakura tried to hold on to the frame, but only ended up with her nails leaving fine groves in the wood as Ino carted her away.

"Help me!"

* * *

Sakura was uncomfortable. She looked stunning in the new green dress and she hated it. The cut was too low for her taste and it was way too tight around the stomach and hip area. It was attracting far too much attention.

The men would not leave her alone. The last jerk who grabbed her butt was down for the count, but the rest of them seemed to swarm her, waiting for their chance at her. She had come to the conclusion that they were all masochistic morons. She had already decked seven men tonight and it looked like they were lining up for the chance. She really hated this.

She glanced over to where Ino was shamelessly flirting with Sasuke. She was fine with that. What she was not fine with was getting covered in drool because her supposed friend had left her behind as an unwilling decoy.

That wasn't the worst part though. Her heart was broken.

'_Why, Kakashi? Why would you sell me out like that?'_

She turned to punch the bastard who had the nerve to cop a feel up top while she was mourning the loss of her protector, but met the hazel eye of one Hatake Kakashi instead. He had already taken care of the bastard for her.

"Yo, Sakura. Need a hand?"

Sakura wanted to cry. Her protector hadn't abandoned her after all!

Kakashi gave a glare to the other men surrounding her and they all backed off. No one messed with the Copy-nin. The jounin held his hand out for her to take. "How about you spend the evening with me, Sakura-chan?"

"Okay," she said happily, immediately taking his hand.

The admiration in her eyes was well worth stooping to Ino's level. This was one favor well spent. He always loved being her hero. And she looked positively resplendent in that dress. Ino did a fine job making her look irresistible.

He glanced in the blonde's direction to wink his thanks. She was too busy getting shot to pieces by the Uchiha. '_How sad,' _he thought as he swayed with his love across the dance floor. He was content to just hold her like this. There was no point in ruining the feel of her with pointless chatter, but apparently, his glance had been noticed.

"I told her it was pointless," she said, looking up from her own glance in the blonde's direction. "She didn't want to believe me, though. I can understand that. If I were her, I wouldn't want to believe me either. I knew it the first time I looked him in the eye again."

Kakashi dipped her, admiring her lovely bent figure. He pulled her back up and continued their graceful dance together.

"What was that?" he asked curiously.

"Uchiha Sasuke could never love a kunoichi."

He was surprised that her tone was so matter-of-fact. She must have lost all those lingering emotions for the Uchiha through the years. That knowledge made him unbelievably happy.

"And why is that, oh knowledgeable one?"

"You really want to know?" she asked mischievously as he spun her out and then brought her back to continue their dance.

He nodded.

"You can't tell anyone I said this," she said, showing complete trust in him as he led her in the dance.

"Promise."

She nodded and leaned a little closer to whisper as if what she said was the biggest secret of the year.

"For the simple reason that he couldn't handle a kunoichi," she asserted.

"And why couldn't he handle a kunoichi?"

"We're too strong-willed and we have minds of our own. Sasuke wants one of those lap girls."

"Lap girl?"

"You know. Like a lap dog. He wants a girl that will never question him, love him unconditionally, and be totally, one hundred percent, devoted to _him_. He always was a selfish boy," she said as she shook her head in mock reprimand. "So, he wants a lap girl."

Kakashi chuckled at her metaphor. Now that he thought about it, Sakura always did have more of a cat personality. But this old dog had an unhealthy affection for cats. So, he pulled her a little closer.

"Oh, look. They're all over her now," she said gleefully. "Serves her right."

Kakashi glanced up from the pink goddess in his arms to see that the men who had swarmed his kunoichi before were indeed hovering around the blonde girl now. As she looked at the two of them pathetically, Kakashi almost felt sorry for her.

"Don't worry, though. Choji will save her soon. Oh, there he goes."

Sure enough, the big man took Ino's hand and led her out of the dark forest of pathetic droolers. They soon entered the dance floor, coming next to Kakashi and Sakura.

"Hey, forehead! You were supposed to distract those losers. Where were you?" she demanded angrily.

"I honestly don't know what you are talking about. I certainly don't remember agreeing to such a thing," Sakura said, mustering her best innocent expression.

"Forehead," Ino growled.

"You seem to have escaped just fine, though," she smiled at her best friend.

Ino's anger instantly dissipated. She just sulked now.

"Come on, Choji. Let's dance over there."

Sakura smiled at the two knowingly.

"What?" Kakashi asked at the look on her face.

"Those two will be dating soon. Just you wait."

"Now that Ino knows Sasuke is hopeless?"

"Exactly."

"So what about you?"

"What?"

A slow song started. Kakashi was glad for the excuse to pull her closer.

"Are you going to try dating, now that Sasuke's hopeless?"

"I don't know. Have any good suggestions?" she asked teasingly.

He furrowed his brow in mock deep thought. After the appropriate length for dramatic pause, he looked deep into her sea-green eyes.

"Well, what about me?"

"Y-you?"

He loved the cute blush that painted her cheeks when she was embarrassed.

"Yes, me."

"I d-don't know, Kakashi. You're kind of old for me."

Her smile told him she was joking and her continued blush told him she liked the idea.

"Great. Then we're officially dating." He smiled at her, eye creasing

"Okay," she said, all smiles.

Kakashi twirled her as they continued dancing.


End file.
